Citi Announces New Impact Fund Investments in Seven Firms | Enterprise & Finance

NEW YORK–(Enterprise WIRE)–Jan 25, 2021–

Citi announced now its up coming round of investments through the Citi Influence Fund, a $200 million fund introduced final year to commit in corporations that are addressing some of the largest societal problems. The new providers incorporated in this spherical are Clerkie, KETOS, MedHaul, Perch, Change, Superpedestrian, and Vyv. They sign up for four portfolio companies earlier announced in September 2020: Fulcrum BioEnergy, ICON, PadSplit, and The Mom Undertaking.

“In just its initially year, the Citi Impact Fund has invested in 11 companies, the majority of which are launched by ladies, minorities – and in some situations each – that have the potential to make our metropolitan areas and communities extra equitable and sustainable,” reported Ed Skyler, Head of Global Community Affairs at Citi. “The economic and social worries of the COVID-19 disaster have increased the urgency for new approaches of doing the job, and we’re concentrated on setting up on these investments to establish new associates this yr.”

The Citi Influence Fund, the greatest of its type created by a lender applying its have capital, is concentrated on organizations that are addressing 5 societal worries:

  • Workforce Improvement – teaching and connecting people to careers.
  • Financial Functionality – escalating access to the financial process.
  • Bodily & Social Infrastructure – strengthening an individual’s way of existence by way of housing, healthcare and transportation.
  • Sustainability – addressing challenges relevant to vitality, h2o and sustainable production.
  • Accessibility To Cash & Economic Opportunity – addressing disparities in obtain to capital and financial opportunity by way of investments in companies founded by females and minorities.

Investments concentrate on companies that have demonstrated evidence of thought, crafted an existing client base and exhibited the potential for scale in numerous markets. A portion of the fund is selected solely for before-phase seed investments in businesses led or owned by girls and minorities. Of the 11 first investments, the fund has invested in a few Black business people, 1 of whom is also feminine, 3 other woman business people and a veteran entrepreneur.

“The Citi Impression Fund is broadening entry to funds for founders like me,” claimed Erica Plybeah, Founder and CEO of MedHaul, a trip-reserving platform for non-emergency health care rides, encouraging generally forgotten populations entry excellent transportation. “MedHaul is the 1st organization acquiring earlier-phase seed investment from the fund, and we’re extremely fired up to partner with Citi as we scale our company to assist far more folks in want of quality, trustworthy medical transportation.”

“Citi has distinguished alone as both an employer and supporter of veterans, service associates and their family members throughout the US,” stated Mike Slagh, CEO of Shift, a veteran-led talent enhancement firm. “This Citi Impact Fund investment decision will support additional our mission in aiding veterans effectively transition out of the navy and prosper in successful civilian occupations.”

Clerkie, is a Black-established AI firm based in San Francisco. Their proprietary financial automation platform streamlines the partnership among creditors and their consumers, and it is intent-developed to support more than 100 million People in america simplicity their personal debt burden. Right after yrs of item screening and validation, Clerkie has aided thousands of borrowers get out of personal debt and build credit by negotiating up to 70% off users’ debt. It’s immediately grown to grow to be a go-to resource for collectors to deal with their loan losses and the financial system brings together skilled economic tips with a person-click automation that would make it simple for buyers to just take action.

KETOS, Inc. (“KETOS”) is a Milpitas, California dependent and female-led organization that delivers integrated, cloud-based mostly, IoT solutions for actionable water intelligence. KETOS serves an array of industrial and agricultural enterprises, business businesses, establishments, metropolitan areas, and utilities, empowering them to make smarter selections by true-time water intelligence and predictive analytics. Its innovative, patented hardware, device studying algorithms, and Sensible Water Intelligence System deliver the predictive and actionable insights essential to enhance water use, make sure source sustainability, and give drinking water basic safety assurance.

MedHaul, a Black and female-founded organization primarily based in Memphis, operates an close-to-stop system that aids health care suppliers (e.g. hospitals, medical professional groups) locate and e book risk-free, qualified, and individualized non-crisis healthcare transportation (NEMT) for people today with exclusive needs. Each calendar year, almost 4 million People with long-term conditions miss their clinical appointments owing to transportation troubles. Specifically for reduced-earnings and/or older individuals with diabetes, bronchial asthma, and arthritis, this can signify the variance among handling serious problems at house and ending up in the unexpected emergency space. The expense of skipped appointments and ambulance abuse expenses the healthcare program about $200 billion for every calendar year. MedHaul supplies a cloud-primarily based, cellular-optimized marketplace that automates the transit administration method and one-way links health care providers with specialised transportation products and services.

Perch is a Black-started Los Angeles based organization designed to empower unbanked and underbanked youthful grownups with equipment to adequately control their credit. Perch has designed a system that allows young adults find out sustainable credit history behavior and construct credit rating with no owning to go into financial debt or maximize costs. Utilizing the Perch system, buyers are able to report recurring regular monthly payments (these kinds of as hire payments and subscription solutions) to US Credit history bureaus and commence to develop a credit score profile.

Change.org, Inc. (“Shift”) is a San Francisco based mostly and veteran-led profession development firm where by existing and former associates of the US Armed forces uncover professions, receive and demonstrate new abilities, and embark on new occupation activities at the finest corporations in the planet. Shift’s talent acquisition providers provide corporate associates with a talent pipeline of various, non-common, knowledgeable and organized candidates.

Superpedestrian is a transportation robotics organization that develops the technology inside the Url Scooter, the most secure, most dependable light-weight electrical motor vehicle in the globe. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Superpedestrian was spun out of the MIT Department of City Scientific tests and Preparing in 2013 with the mission of developing safe and sound and dependable light-weight electric autos (LEVs). Superpedestrian’s initial endeavor was to engineer a procedure to handle micro-car protection and efficiency. This exertion culminated in a patented Car Intelligence Process (VIS), a collection of sensors, firmware, and onboard diagnostic technologies that monitors the mechanical and electrical status of an complete car in actual time, and autonomously resolves a vast majority of potential concerns. For Superpedestrian and its Backlink Scooter services, the benefits have shown that VIS potential customers to best-in-class dependability, security and operational efficiencies.

Vyv (formerly regarded as “Vital Vio”) is a New York-based mostly and feminine started wellbeing tech corporation that has developed a new sort of cleaning safety. Vyv, formerly Vital Vio, features proprietary ongoing-use, non-UV antimicrobial gentle technological know-how for residences, public destinations, and marketplace. Unlike harmful UV gentle, Vyv meets intercontinental standards for continuous and unrestricted use all-around folks, animals, and crops. Nowadays, Vyv provides a distinctive strategy to cleansing continuously. Vyv LED light-weight generates environments inhospitable to the development of germs, fungi, yeast, mould and mildew. As overhead lighting, Vyv can be uncovered in food stuff manufacturing and expert services, health care services, vacation and hospitality, retail, professional and public properties and several other sites. Vyv technologies is also embedded into professional and client merchandise and apps – shower lights that end mold development, powering cleaner elevator buttons and in many other numerous and artistic techniques.

The fund is a element of International Public Affairs’ Community Investing and Improvement team, which aims to boost constructive social influence and financial innovations that advantage underserved communities all-around the environment. This incorporates the perform of Citi Inclusive Finance and the Citi Effect Fund in addition to the philanthropic perform performed by the Citi Basis. By way of fairness investing, lending and grant earning, Citi and the Citi Basis are functioning in new approaches to outcome optimistic and significant modify in the communities all over the environment.

Citi, the primary world wide bank, has close to 200 million consumer accounts and does enterprise in much more than 160 nations and jurisdictions. Citi offers buyers, businesses, governments and institutions with a broad range of economical products and expert services, together with client banking and credit, corporate and financial commitment banking, securities brokerage, transaction products and services, and wealth management.

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PUB: 01/25/2021 09:00 AM/DISC: 01/25/2021 09:01 AM

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